The toxicity of waterborne retene (7-isopropyl-1-methyl phenanthrene) to post-hatch embryos of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was assessed at 5 and 11 °C. Survival times of retene-exposed embryos were 70 % longer at 5 °C than at 11 °C, but survival times and LC50 s did not vary when time was expressed as degree-days (thermal units), i.e., at a common stage of development. The size of survivors decreased with increasing retene concentrations, but not with temperature. Retene did not bioconcentrate to any extent (bioconcentration factors less then 2) at either temperature, indicating effective biotransformation by embryos. However, concentrations of retene metabolites were slightly higher at 5 °C, suggesting slower excretion rates than at 11 °C. selleck chemical The relative expression of cytochrome P450 proteins (CYP1A) did not vary with temperature but increased with retene concentration, as indicated by cyp1a mRNA concentrations. The induction of CYP1A protein by retene exposure was evident in the vasculature of eye, brain, heart, kidney, liver, gill, mouth, intestine, muscle, and yolk-sac. However, immunohistochemical staining was greater at 5 than at 11 °C for all tissues except liver and muscle. Overall, temperature effects on retene toxicity disappeared when the duration of embryo development and retene exposure were expressed as thermal units (degree-days). Temperature controlled the rate of embryo development and the rate of toxicity (time to a toxic endpoint), but not the concentrations that were toxic. V.Cadmium (Cd) a highly toxic metal to human and wildlife health and it is hazardous to both terrestrial and aquatic life. In this study, we used RNA sequencing analysis to examine the effects of chronic cadmium exposure on liver lipid metabolism of Bufo gargarizans larvae. Tadpoles were exposed to cadmium concentrations at 0, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 200 μg L-1 from Gosner stage 26-42 of metamorphic climax. The results showed high dose cadmium (50, 100 and 200 μg L-1) caused obvious histological changes characterized by hepatocytes deformation, nuclear pyknosis, increasing melanomacrophage centers (MMCs) and aggregated lipid droplets. Moreover, transcriptome analysis showed that liver function was seriously affected by cadmium exposure. Furthermore, high dose cadmium significantly upregulated the mRNA expression of elongation of very-long-chain fatty acids 1 (ELOVL1), Mitochondrial trans-2-enoyl-CoA reductase (MECR), Trans-2, 3-enoyl-CoA reductase (TER) and Hydroxysteroid (17β) dehydrogenase type 12 (HSD17B12) which are related with fatty acid synthesis. Meanwhile, mRNA levels of genes related with fat acid oxidation such as acetyl-CoA acyltransferase 2 (ACAA2) and enoyl-coenzyme A (CoA) hydratase short chain 1 (ECHS1) were significantly upregulated while the expression of Acyl-coA thioesterase 1 (ACOT1), 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HADH), Palmitoyl-protein thioesterase 1(PPT1) and Acetyl-CoA acyltransferase 1(ACAA1) was significantly downregulated by high dose cadmium exposure. Furthermore, the mRNA level of ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 11 (ABCB11) related with bile secretion was significantly decreased exposed to high dose cadmium. Our results suggested cadmium can cause liver dysfunction by inducing histopathological damages, genetic expression alterations and fatty acid metabolism disorder. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a non-cellular and three-dimensional structure, constituted by a macromolecular dynamic network that involves the cells in all animal tissues, including embryonic ones. Several studies with vertebrates and cell cultures have reported deleterious effects of ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation on the components associated with the ECM. However, studies focusing on the UVB radiation effects on ECM components of crustaceans during embryonic development are very scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify the coding sequences of components associated with the ECM and to evaluate the effect of UVB radiation on embryos of the ecologically-important decapod Macrobrachium olfersii. To evaluate the modulation of these ECM components during embryonic development, the transcript levels of Col4α1, Itgβ, Lamα, Mmp1 and Timp in M. olfersii embryos were analyzed at early developmental stages (E1, E3 and E4), intermediate developmental stage (E7) and late developmental stages (E10 and E14).trengthen the knowledge of the complex impacts of UVB radiation on freshwater embryos. Nevertheless, our results encourage further investigations focusing on the assessment of UVB effects on different organisms in order to better understand the myriad of UVB effects on ECM components. Antimicrobial peptides (AMP) with anticancer activity have drawn remarkable attention in modern treatments. However, long peptide length and protease instability are the most addressing factors, which hampers their further development as therapeutic agents. In view of this, herein, we designed and synthesized a series of AZT-based cationic small molecule incorporating a variety of hydrophobic groups and cationic charges, including amine and guanidine groups to mimic the amphipathic structure of AMPs. These compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Through an extensive structure activity relationship study (SAR), we identified ADG-2e as the most potent antibacterial agent, which exhibited remarkable potency against drug resistant bacterial strains such as MRSA and MDRPA. Further, ADG-2e was examined for their anti-metastatic ability by investigating the cancer cell migration and invasiveness through scratch wound-healing assay and transwell invasive assay, respectively. In addition, time-lapse cell tracking analysis also performed for analyzing the cell movement pattern. Treatment of ADG-2e against metastatic breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) suppressed tumor cell migration by multi-directional lamellipodium formation, indicating their anti-metastatic potential. Thus, our cationic AZT based small molecules may evolve as an appealing class of antibacterial agents with anti-metastasis potential.